Galatians 2:20

Galatians 2:15–21 (ESV): Justified by Faith

15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.  19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Abba,

These words…..oh, these words…..

“I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I live but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Not only is the grand purpose of my life to live TO and FOR you (verse 19), it is live THROUGH you. 

I died.

I was crucified.

With You, Christ.

I willingly embraced my own death when I confessed my sin and acknowledged You as THE Christ, as Lord. 

I chose something else. 

I chose SOMEONE else.

I chose to surrender my life to the control, purpose, and will of another; specifically to you, my Creator and King.

Life as my own ruler and king was surrendered in place of this greater purpose and allegiance.

I died with you, Jesus.

I embraced death as a way of life and forever tied myself to your death on the cross. 

Your death for me on the cross, as bloody and violent, and shameful as it is, stands forever as the center of my worship.

The Lamb who was slain (Revelation 4-5) will forever be the central focus of our eternal worship and adoration. 

Death, a reality we spend our lives trying to avoid, the gates of heaven exalt and herald for the remainder of eternity.

For in death comes life.

In surrender comes freedom.

In my death comes the source of life; the giver of life; LIFE itself (John 1:4)

That life now lives in me.

Your life, Jesus, now lives in me.

…Christ lives in me….the life I now live….I live by faith sin the Son of God.

My life IS you.

My life does not exist WITHOUT you.

My life is linked to Your death and resurrection.

My life only matters because of your death and resurrection. 

Without you, there is no life.

You live IN ME.

Your life is made manifest in me.

Your Spirit indwells me

Your transforming work is making me into the image of yourself, Jesus.

I do not live FOR myself

But neither do I live BY myself. 

The live I now live, I LIVE BY FAITH IN YOU.

Your power and divine strength flows through me by the indwelling of your Spirit, by your presence in my being.

Your grace and wisdom flow from my life as you shape me into a reflection of your incredible glory and majesty!

I am NOT you, but I reflect you….not perfectly, not yet.  But your life in me is unmistakable because my faith in you, my death with you, and my resurrection with you have made me something other than I can could ever become on my own. 

There is no life WITHOUT you.  My life is bound up in yours.  Everything else, though having the illusion of life, is really death.  Everything that the world heralds as life, as truly living is in reality devoid of anything of true meaningful life.

Life, true life is KNOWING You….

John 17:3 (ESV): 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Life…..eternal life….TRUE LIFE…is not found in living my temporary days as I see fit. It is not found in pursuing and living out the fantasies and passions of this weak and polluted flesh. 

Life is not found in the extreme highs of adventure that this life has to offer. 

Life is not found intimacy and friendship with other created beings such as myself.

LIFE, TRUE LIFE….is Christ in me.

Life, TRUE LIFE…is You, Your life, Your person, Your being indwelling, transforming, and being lived out in me.

Oh how often do I look for life elsewhere?

How often do I look for meaning, worth, significance in all the wrong places?

I have the VERY AUTHOR and ORIGIN of life itself, both physical and spiritual, INDWELLING me at this very moment.

Oh foolish flesh, oh wicked man that I am….why do I believe the lies of the adversary that life can be found from any other source?  Why do I so foolishly run after temporal and earthly things when the author of life has graciously and mercifully granted to me the very essence of all that matters and filled me with His presence to satisfy and fill the very longings that sin promises but fails to deliver on?

Abba, YOU ARE TRUE LIFE

And your life lives in me.

I am never without you.

I am never left lacking.

Live IN and THROUGH me, Jesus!

Fill me up and pour out of me, Spirit.

Let the glory of YOUR LIFE satisfy, fulfill, and explode forth from my being.

I love you, Abba.

Live FULLY IN me.